A person who is dealing with Wart understands how embarrassing a wart can be when it is located on a part of the body that is noticeable to others. A wart is a benign skin growth that looks and feels like a small, fleshy, grainy pea. it can appear almost anywhere on the body, but most commonly are found on the hands, fingers, and around the fingernails.
Who Gets Warts?
Warts can occur in people of all ages but occur most commonly in children and young adults. They spread by direct contact, simply by touching the wart. Warts normally resolve spontaneously but the time it takes for this resolution is variable.
There are clinically 6 types of Wart:
- Common warts have a rather bumpy surface and appear most often on the hands and fingers.
- Flat or plane warts are small, smooth warts appearing in clusters on the back of the hands, face, or legs.
- Plantar warts are those appearing on the soles of the feet.
- Filiform warts form long, thin projections around the eyes, face, and neck.
- Periungual warts (Common in people who bite their nails) occur under and around the fingernails.
- Genital (venereal) warts are those appearing on the genitalia.
What causes warts?
Warts are caused by a family of viruses called human papillomavirus (HPV). Once infected with the virus, it may take up to a year or more for the wart to become visible. They then grow very slowly over a period of months to years.
Genital warts are caused by a different family type of HPV. These are sexually transmitted and can sometimes cause cervical and vulval cancer. Ordinary skin warts do not cause cancer.
Options for removing warts
Remember that a treatment plan needs to be discussed with the doctor or health care specialist.
Whatever the choice, remember that weekly treatments are usually needed, and it may be sometime before warts clear.
- Podophyllotoxin solution is a patient-applied treatment for external genital warts, recommended for men only as it is too difficult for women to self-apply.
- Cryotherapy (freezing off the wart with liquid nitrogen) by a trained health practitioner.
- Trichloroacetic acid (TCA) is a chemical applied to the surface of the wart by a trained health practitioner. It is unavailable in some DHBs.
- Laser therapy (using an intense light to destroy warts) or surgery (cutting off warts) has the advantage of getting rid of warts in a single visit. Laser treatment can be expensive and the health care provider must be well trained in these methods.
If you think you might have a wart, you should show it to your doctor at your next visit to make sure it is a wart and to discuss treatment. Consult with the skin specialist as soon as possible if your wart causes pain, bleeds easily, spreads easily to other areas of the body or comes back, contact with KEMPS skin clinic, Vaishali if you want the wart removed for cosmetic reasons. You also should see your doctor if you develop genital warts so they can be treated.
